MILWAUKEE — There's real optimism in Milwaukee about the Brewers' chances of maintaining their hot start, though it must be noted they do drink a lot of beer around here.

A nine-game winning streak made the Brew Crew the talk of the league last week, before they cooled off a bit against the Cardinals and Pirates.

Is it just an early season mirage, or have the Brewers actually become contenders one year after losing 88 games?

They didn't add a lot this offseason, but the signing of free agent Matt Garza helped solidify the rotation, outfielder Ryan Braun returned from his PED suspension and Aramis Ramirez came back strong after a left knee injury forced him to miss 70 games last season.

"Everything has to go right," Ramirez said. "We have to pitch, but the main thing is we have to stay on the field. Last year I didn't play much, and we all know what happened to 'Brauny.' We have to stay healthy and everything has to go right for us to win."

So far, everything has gone right for Ramirez, who looks better than he has in years, and Braun, who is handling his new-found villain status well, almost as if he enjoys being heckled. Garza doesn't have a victory yet, but pitched well over his first three starts, with a 3.43 ERA.

The Brewers are 16th in payroll at $103.8 million, basically a middle-of-the-pack, mid-market club that can't afford to guess wrong on free agents. It didn't look like they were doing much last winter before they signed Garza to a four-year, $50 million deal in late January.

"We waited to see how the free agent markets went," general manager Doug Melvin said. "All the agents were waiting to see where (Japanese ace Masahiro) Tanaka fit in, and maybe he was a special case later on in that regard.

"Pitchers fell in sequence, (Bronson) Arroyo and Garza, guys who weren't attached to the draft picks. At that point our ownership felt we had the ability to sign him."

Garza is a risk, as Cubs fans know well. He spent several weeks on the disabled list in both 2012 and '13 and has a screw implanted in his right elbow from a childhood injury. The Cubs found few takers when they tried to deal him last July before Texas gave them a package of prospects they couldn't pass up.

"There is risk with any pitcher," Melvin said. "You see the number of pitchers that have gone down already. There's a risk with all pitching. You keep your fingers crossed with everybody."

The Brewers were third in the majors Friday with a 2.73 ERA after finishing 16th in 2013 at 3.84. Yovani Gallardo (2-0, 0.96 ERA) has been nearly untouchable, while Kyle Lohse (3-1, 2.67 after Friday) and Wily Peralta (2-0, 1.96) are also off to good starts.

One of the key moves manager Ron Roenicke has made was making Francisco Rodriguez his closer to replace Jim Henderson, who saved 28 games for the Brewers last year.

"You always want the best reliever out there in the ninth inning," Henderson said after the demotion. "Right now, it's not me."

Entering Friday, Rodriguez had yet to allow a run in seven appearances, and had a sparkling 0.57 WHIP.

Over the years the Brewers have lost stars like CC Sabathia and Prince Fielder because they couldn't afford to re-sign them. But they're fortunate to be competing in the National League Central, where the Cardinals, Pirates and Reds have the same budgetary limitations and the Cubs are still light years away from contending.

"We obviously have some limitations other clubs don't have," Melvin said. "I like that part of it — the player development, the scouting — that's the fun part of it.

"That's why we're in the game. I love watching a younger player come through a system who nobody counts on and all of a sudden he's in your lineup on a regular basis. As an organization, we're always going to have to embrace our younger players."

Melvin was able to acquire center fielder Carlos Gomez for J.J. Hardy in 2009 and shortstop Jean Segura from the Angels as part of package for Zack Greinke in 2012. Both are part of a young core that has rejuvenated veterans such as Ramirez and Braun.

"We lost more than 650 at-bats between (Ramirez and Braun), our (Nos.) 3-4 hitters," Melvin said. "It's not like losing that many at-bats from a (No.) 7 or 8 hitter. Three and four are very important to us.

"Having Aramis back healthy is huge because (in 2012) we were in the pennant race — 11/2 games out with seven left — and they both had big years. We all realize how important they both are."

The Brewers draw well in Milwaukee, thanks in no small part to a retractable dome stadium. As much as they were upset with Braun for lying to them about PED use, the fans were quick to forgive him after his apology.

"Milwaukee fans are good fans," Ramirez said. "It's not a big city, but they do draw 3 million people here, and even though we were out of the race early last year we still drew close to 3 million. It says a lot about these fans, and you could see that (with their ovations for Braun)."

If Ramirez and Braun can keep it up and the starting pitching remains consist, there's no reason to believe the Brewers can't stay in the race.

But, as Ramirez said, everything has to go right.

"The expectation is for us to contend," Braun said. "With all small and mid-market teams it's that much more important that your good players, your middle of the lineup guys, stay on the field for as many games as possible. Last year we weren't able to do it. Hopefully this year it'll be a different situation for us as a team."